Curtis Campbell, STAR Writer

Eddie Murphy

American actor Eddie Murphy has joined forces with former gangster rapper turned reggae artiste Snoop Lion to release an authentic reggae song called 'Red Light'.

A viral music video is also circulating the Internet which shows the actor playing a guitar and singing with a live band in classic reggae style.

Murphy sings the lead to an infectious tune, baring a positive message.

"Red-light, stop right there where you are," he sings. "Emancipation [gone], race relations [gone], all our rebels are gone," he sang.

He pays homage to leaders like Malcolm X, Martin Luther King and Jamaica's national hero Marcus Mosiah Garvey in the song.

The release of Red Light marks the first time that the comedian has done an authentic reggae song and is a complete contrast to his past releases like Party All the Time, and his dancehall effort I Was A King which featured Shabba Ranks.

A YouTube video for the song has already received over 200,000 views. Another video uploaded on Worldstarhiphop.com has also received over 280,000 views.

attraction to reggae

The WEEKEND STAR yesterday contacted curator of the Jamaica Music Museum, Herbie Miller, about what seems to be a current American attraction to reggae/dancehall music with a number of popular artistes from that country either sampling or attempting to do our local music. According to Miller, this is not a craze, but an ongoing development of Jamaican music.

"I think Snoop Dogg and Eddie Murphy were aware of reggae long time and were aware of the classic reggae era period with the likes of Bob Marley. The fact that they are now embracing the music is a timely thing. I don't think it's a craze. Like any other music you will find people seeking to be diversified. So Eddie Murphy doing reggae music now doesn't mean he didn't appreciate it all along. Bob James, David Murray, Miles Davis, Hubert Laws and Lester Bowie who are all Americans did reggae music at some point. Reggae music is everybody's right now," he said.

American rapper Jim Jones in January of this year, performed on a remix of reggae artiste Chris Martin's Cheaters Prayer. Martin's manager Lydon Lettman had told the weekend STAR at the time, that reggae music is growing in the US rapidly.

"This just goes to show that the market is big and obviously the song is big worldwide, which is why Jim Jones decided to do a remix. So I am waiting to see where this will go. We are out in the US market and not just in the Tri-state area," Lettman said.

Snoop Lion recently released his reggae album called Reincarnation.

Snoop Lion